Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Barring a sudden turnaround, the Rebels will be trading their hockey sticks for golf clubs much earlier than anticipated.
Fourteen losses in 20 games have shot the Rebels from the top of the ECHL's Eastern Division into the deep rough. And with only 12 of 64 regular-season games left, coach Claude Noel and his team find themselves playing a scramble.
If the playoffs began today, the Rebels would be done. They would be ninth in line to a playoff format that only invites eight.
Can the Rebels butt Louisville, Richmond or Erie out of line? They likely will find out in the next two weeks.
Starting tonight against Johnstown at the LancerLot, Roanoke Valley begins a critical stretch in which it plays four of five games at home.
From that point, the Nassau bet gets tougher. Five of Roanoke Valley's last seven games are on the road.
Louisville, which is tied with Roanoke Valley for the eighth playoff spot with 50 points, plays eight of its final 15 games at home. The IceHawks, who own the tie-breaker edge (more victories) on the Rebels, finish the season on March 12 against Roanoke Valley. Louisville is 4-0 vs. the Rebels.
Richmond, which is four points ahead of Roanoke Valley but has played three more games, has only nine games left. Four are at home, including pivotal back-to-back games against Roanoke Valley on March 8-9.
Erie, which leads Roanoke Valley by one point and has three games in hand, closes with eight of its final 15 games at home, where the Panthers are among the ECHL's best.
Most league experts figure it will take a minimum of 64 points to make the playoffs. If that's indeed the case, the Rebels will need to collect 14 points in their last 12 games.
It won't be easy. Five of the games are against three of the ECHL's four best clubs - Hampton Roads and Cincinnati twice each and Johnstown.
\ ICE CHIPS: Forward Greg Neish, who hasn't played since sustaining a serious eye injury in late December, may rejoin the Rebels' lineup tonight. . . . Entering the stretch drive, the Rebels are 13-8-5 at home and 9-16-1 on the road. . . . Roanoke Valley isn't the only club struggling in search of a playoff bid. Nashville, 10th with 47 points, has dropped four straight games. The Knights blew a three-goal lead in the third period against visiting Johnstown last Sunday, prompting a bench tirade from Knights coach Peter Horachek that led to his first ejection of the season. . . . Hampton Roads, which is clinging to a two-point lead on second-place Johnstown in the East, visits the LancerLot on Saturday. The game launches an eight-game, three-week road trip for John Brophy's club. . . . Knoxville and Cincinnati have agreed to play a Feb. 20 exhibition game in Dayton, Ohio, which is hoping to get the ECHL's 15th franchise in 1991-92.
by CNB